Buckinghamshire Drugs and Alcohol Strategy 2023 to 2028

Buckinghamshire has established a Combating Drugs Partnership to take a long-term approach to tackling drugs and alcohol misuse. The Combating Drugs Partnership recognises that drug use doesn’t happen in isolation. The effects are felt across the whole public sector and community. To achieve positive outcomes there must be a sustained effort from all stakeholders to reduce the barriers that hinder our progress. Individual services will deliver outcomes more effectively and efficiently by working together, rather than alone.

Working together also aims to ensure that services complement rather than duplicate, or even undermine, each other. It is essential that we reduce, as far as possible, the need for people to keep retelling their story to professionals to limit the risk of re-traumatisation. Our Thames Valley Together project is one example of how we are working in this way. The single biggest finding from serious violence serious case reviews is a lack of information sharing. The illicit drugs market has a recognised link to violent crime. Thames Valley Together will improve intelligence sharing – giving better identification of individuals at risk of harm.

• 1 in 10 adults report consuming more than 1000 units of alcohol per week when they enter alcohol treatment in Buckinghamshire, similar to the national proportion
  
• Self-referrals are the main route to drug treatment in Buckinghamshire, at a higher proportion than nationally
  
• Hospitals generate less than 1 in 20 referrals into drug treatment in Buckinghamshire – a lower proportion than nationally
  
• 1 in 3 adults released from prison needing substance misuse treatment engage with community services within 3 weeks – this is the same as the national rate, but the new national target aims for 75% by the end of 2023

All commit to working together and making our Combating Drugs Partnership a success

Lead Agency: All

Publish a needs assessment every three years to ensure we use the most up to date information when reviewing and planning our services

Lead Agency: Buckinghamshire Council – Public Health

Organisations across Buckinghamshire will join and support the Thames Valley Together project

Lead Agency: Thames Valley Violence Reduction Unit and Buckinghamshire Council – Community Safety

Strengthen joint working with other police forces where county drugs lines originate to enhance the identification of gangs, organised crime groups and individuals causing the greatest risk of harm to Buckinghamshire communities and disrupt line holders

Lead Agency: Thames Valley Police

Develop processes to gain insights from people who have experienced drugs or alcohol problems to feed into the Combating Drugs Partnership

Lead Agency: Buckinghamshire Combating Drugs Partnership

Increase referrals, rather than signposting, to specialist drugs and alcohol treatment services when a need is detected by other frontline providers

Lead Agencies: Integrated Care Board and Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust

Further support people leaving custody to access community drug treatment services in the approach to and during release

Lead Agencies: HMP Bullingdon, Probation and the Adult Drugs and Alcohol Treatment Service (One Recovery Bucks)